PORTSMOUTH – The Joan G. Lovering Health Center will welcome former U.S. Ambassador and Vt. Gov. Madeleine M. Kunin for their 5th annual Pioneer Circle Awards Celebration on Oct. 17 to discuss “The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the Next Revolution for Women, Work, and Family.”

Kunin was the first woman governor of Vermont and the first woman in the U.S. to serve three terms as governor. She served as Deputy Secretary of Education and Ambassador to Switzerland in the Clinton administration. Kunin is the author of "The New Feminist Agenda; Pearls, Politics and Power;" and "Living a Political Life."

She is also a Marsh professor at the University of Vermont, a commentator on Vermont Public Radio, and founder and board member of the global Institute for Sustainable Communities, a nongovernmental organization focused on climate change and civil society.

The celebration will also honor seacoast residents Dr. Karl and Paula Singer, who have supported the center's work since 1980 and defended reproductive rights in New England. Karl advocated for women's access to contraception in the 1960's and 1970's, when it was still a taboo subject in Massachusetts, where he was practicing and Paula has historically helped the health center since it opened.

The Lovering Health Center is grateful for their unwavering and loyal support all these years and will present them with the Pioneer Circle Award.

This annual dinner celebration helps to raise funds for the Joan G. Lovering Health Center, which provides quality, low cost sexual health care for men and women in our community. Funds are used to supplement payments for individuals who are indigent or who are suffering under extenuating circumstances and enable the center to keep fees affordable and allows us to provide personal service for each individual.

“We continue to provide quality reproductive healthcare services and STD testing and treatment, in spite of political pressure to stop these services. Our patients value our compassionate care and affordable fees and they thank us regularly. We count on the community to help us with this important task.” said Linda Griebsch, executive director.

The event, to be held at the Harbor Events and Conference Center in Portsmouth, includes dinner, live music and a silent auction. Reservations are $110 per person for VIP admission, which includes an exclusive meet-and-greet with Kunin, complimentary cocktails from 5 to 6 p.m. and preview of silent auction items.

General admission starts at 6 p.m. and is $60 per person. To attend the event, call the Health Center at 603-436-7588 or visit the events page at www.jglhc.org

-- About the Joan G. Lovering Health Center --The Joan G. Lovering Health Center is an independent, local, nonprofit clinic. We are dedicated to providing confidential, comprehensive and accurate sexual health information and services to all females and males on New Hampshire's Seacoast in a safe, supportive environment. We are committed to being the region's premier resource for sexual health education. It is our passion to honor, respect and advocate for the right of everyone to maintain freedom and choices regarding their own sexual health in keeping with the feminist health care model and tradition. Learn more at www.jglhc.org